Kebbi, Sokoto top list of states with highest number of out-of-school children

The chilling reality of insecurity, poverty, and inadequate infrastructure’s stronghold on the Nigerian education sector has led to the disturbing issue of out-of-school children across states leaving countless young minds without access to learning.

The safety of school children is under scrutiny in the country as bandits carry out audacious attacks across the country. Recently, about 800 unsuspecting Nigerians, mostly schoolchildren, were kidnapped by terrorists in the northern part of the country.

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The top three states grappling with the highest percentages of out-of-school children are Kebbi, Sokoto, and Yobe, a recent Cable Index report shows.

Kebbi with a staggering 67.6 percent, Sokoto with 66.4 percent, and Yobe State with 62.9 percent stand out with alarming figures of Nigerian states where children aged 6–15 are out of school, respectively.

About seven out of ten children miss out on formal education in Kebbi State according to the report due to issues such as poverty and inadequate infrastructure.

In the same vein, inadequate educational facilities and ignorance are seen as contributing to the rising dropout rates in Sokoto State, especially among marginalised communities where over two-thirds of children are out of school.

Recently, armed men broke into a boarding school in Gidan Bakuso village of the Gada council area in Sokoto State and abducted about 15 children.

These numbers paint an ugly picture of the learning scenery, showing fundamental challenges hindering children’s right to education.

Yobe State is third with about two-thirds of its children lacking schooling opportunities. The insecurity narrative of the state has led to disrupted education, with residents being more safety conscious than going to school.

Besides, the issue of child labour and early marriages orchestrated by poverty is not helping the situation but has exposed the communities to worsen the level of illiteracy and insufficiency.

According to the Insecurity and Education in Nigeria report, in 2022, there were an estimated 3.6 million internally displaced people, and from 2020-2023, 14,437 people were abducted and 16,558 deaths were recorded across the whole of Nigeria.

In the face of the rampaging insecurity and economic crunch, many Nigerian children have become victims of a harrowing cycle of kidnapping and ransom demands.

Tragically, many die and never return, the weight of this fear has forced numerous schools to close their doors, leaving a generation in the shadows of an uncertain future.

Below are the out-of-school children’s ratings for the various states Zamfara: 61.3percent, Bauchi: 55.7 percent, Borno: 54.2 percent, Jigawa: 51.1 percent, Gombe: 48 percent, Katsina: 45.9 percent, and Niger: 42.8 percent.

Kano 39.2, Taraba 28.8, Nasarawa 25.4, Plateau: 23.2, Kwara: 22, Kaduna: 21.9, Adamawa: 21.7, Oyo: 20.9, and Ogun: 20.5 percent.

Others are Benue: 18.4, Ebonyi: 16.7, Ondo: 13.8, Osun: 12.8, FCT: 12.8, Edo: 11.3, Akwa Ibom: 10.6, Kogi: 10.2, Delta: 9.3, Rivers: 7.7, Cross River: 7.6, Enugu: 7.5, Bayelsa: 7.4, Lagos: 6.4, Abia: 5.6, Ekiti: 5.1, Imo: 5.1, and Anambra: 2.9 percent.